It Shouldn't Have To Be This Hard
by DarkenedSkye
Summary: AU fic - Heero and Duo are best friends, but Duo thinks of Heero in a way that is more than just friendly. Chapter 4 up!
1. Chapter 1

It's a Gundam Wing AU with a Duo/Heero pairing. Quatre/Trowa on the side, too. Basically Heero and Duo go to school together and are best friends, but Duo thinks of Heero in a way that is slightly more than just friendly ^_~ Not much else to say! It's probably a very cliched, overdone thing, but it's just a little daydream I had in my head that begged to be written down. Rating is PG13 for now, but may go up in the future. A note on the title: I came up with it because I was totally stuck with thinking up a title, and I was complaining that it shouldn't have to be so hard…so, there ya go! It will probably relate to the story also, as it progresses.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, Heero and Duo would be an official couple, and the program definitely wouldn't be suitable for children ^_~

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It Shouldn't Have To be This Hard - Chapter 1

"Duo, you're drooling".

Duo was startled out of his reverie by a sharp nudge in his side. Hastily swiping a hand across his chin, Duo glared at the young blonde next to him, conveying his annoyance at being shaken out of his daydream. As usual, he had been watching his best friend Heero Yuy play basketball, and the delicious view of messy chocolate coloured hair, clear cobalt blue eyes intensely eyeing the opponent and rippling muscles had sent him off into his favourite fantasy that involved him, Heero, and plenty of whipped cream.

Quatre stared back at Duo, completely unfazed by his glare. "I was just letting you know. Besides, I didn't want to drown in your saliva." The Arabian giggled as Duo snorted in indignation. Yes, Quatre was the giggling type, and it didn't serve him well, but Duo found it kinda cute. Well, that word was the word that was usually used to describe Quatre's entire persona. With his baby blonde hair, soft blue eyes and kindly smile, it was hard to call him otherwise. 

"Thinking about Heero again?" Quatre asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Who else?" Duo grumbled, trying to return to his daydreaming.

Although Quatre's constant teasing and attempts to get him to 'confess' to Heero could get terribly annoying, Duo was glad that he had told his friend about his crush. At first he had been sure that Quatre would find it disgusting that he had a crush on another guy, and he had been surprised to find that Quatre was also in the same position. It was a great relief, and he found comfort in the fact that he could talk to Quatre about his feelings so openly.

"Honestly, you really should tell him how you feel. I mean, you've been pining over the guy for months!"

"I have not been pining! You're making me sound like some love-struck school girl." Duo retorted primly. Luckily, he was saved from hearing Quatre tell him how he _was_ a love-struck school girl, except for the fact that he was a guy, by the games coach yelling at the class to shower and change 'on the double'. Duo leapt up and hastily made his way to the changing rooms, his speed partly to get away from Quatre, partly to catch up with Heero, and partly to avoid having to do 50 press ups for being the last into the changing rooms. He had his suspicions that the games coach was part of a program to train schoolboys for the army.

Trotting up beside his best friend he clapped him on the back "Hey Heero! Great game out there!"

"Hn. We lost."

'Whoops, too much daydreaming' he mentally berated himself. Out loud he said cheerfully "Well, you played great anyway!"

"Thanks" was the short reply. Heero was never one for wasting words.

Entering the changing rooms, Heero pulled off his PE top, giving Duo an eyeful of gleaming muscles. He nearly fell head first over a discarded sports school bag as Heero also proceeded to vacate his sports shorts, now leaving him in only his plain grey boxers. Duo seriously wished he were given some sort of warning before Mr I-just-can't-seem-to-keep-in-my-clothes decided to strip off. He dragged his wandering eyes up to Heero's face, to find him staring back at him. Blankly he stared back. After a minute Heero broke the silence.

"I'm taking a shower…"

"Hm?" Heero was going to take a shower. Now there was a nice thought. He could just imagine the water flowing over bronzed shoulders, down the firm, smooth chest…

"Duo, you're in front of the shower cubicles."

"Argh!" He hastily jumped aside, face flaming, and Heero walked coolly past, looking slightly bemused. From somewhere to his left Duo could here Quatre in hysterical giggles. 'Yes, it was probably pretty funny, to anyone who's not me' he mused to himself. He sighed mentally and rubbed at his eyes as Quatre came over and patted his shoulder sympathetically, although the gesture was kind of pointless since he was still giggling, which really defeated the object. 

"Why do I always make such a fool of myself?" he asked dejectedly.

"Aw, it wasn't that bad!" Quatre reasoned, although the giggles still weren't helping.

"I always mess up in front of him! And although I try my best to impress him, who am I kidding, I don't have a chance!"

"Don't think like that! It's not like he's ever told you he's not interested, he's just never told you he is." That was Quatre, ever the optimistic one. "Although that may have something to do with the fact that you haven't told him how you feel" he added pointedly. Also the ever annoying one.

"Quatre, I am not telling Heero I have a thing for him. End of story." He began stripping off his gym outfit and shoving it into his sports bag. Quatre followed suit, but instead folded his clothes neatly before putting them away.

"Fine, fine, be like that." He stuck out his tongue at Duo, another one of his cute little habits that earned him a lot of teasing. "But if you ever do decide to declare your undying love to him, I know some great places for flower bouquets, giant heart balloons, and quartets to serenade under his window."

Duo just laughed then stopped with a snort as he realised that Quatre could well be serious, and might someday take it upon himself to order some of the said romantics for Heero, saying they were from him. That provided an interesting scene to him; how would Heero react if he awoke one morning to a quartet underneath his window serenading him with love songs, helium heart balloons filling the air, and fresh roses covering his house? This entertained him for a while as he pulled on his school trousers, then his shirt. As he began to button it up, he turned to Quatre, who looked as though he was just about to start informing Duo, yet again, of how he should 'declare his undying love to Heero'. Before he could get a word in, Duo jumped in with his own question. 

"So how's Trowa?"

Quatre flushed slightly, but his eyes sparkled, and Duo knew it had been a good choice of conversation. Quatre could ramble on for hours about his crush, who also happened to be his next door neighbour. As they continued dressing, Quatre happily babbled on about how Trowa did this and Trowa said that.

"You know yesterday when I looked out of my window and into his, he was getting changed, and he'd forgotten to close the blinds! Ooh, it was like a strip show just for me!"

Duo never ceased to be amazed at how someone who looked as innocent and angelic as Quatre could have such a perverted mind. 

"My, he's fine. He has a six pack you know. Perfect chest. Long, perfect legs. And what an ass! So firm and-" He broke off suddenly, smirking slightly, but his pink complexion betrayed him embarrassment. "I should stop there before I get carried away. All in all, let's just say; he's one hell of a sex god."

Turning to pick up his sports kit, Duo snorted quietly. He knew of only one sex god and that sex god was- Standing right in front of him!

Heero had just exited the shower stall and made his way over to his clothes, which were folded on the bench next to Duo. Duo stared at Heero's dripping form and wondered whether it might give away some of his feelings if he just jumped the soaked boy right there and then. His eyes roamed over Heero's lean but muscular body, taking in the water streaming from his chocolate hair and running in rivulets down his firm, bronzed chest, making him look unbelievably sexy. Duo vaguely wondered how stupid he looked just standing there gawking at Heero as he toweled down his upper body but, to be honest, he didn't really care how he looked at that moment. He was far too busy drinking in every aspect of Heero-I'm-so-sexy-I-could-do-the-baywatch-run-without-looking-cheesy-Yuy, and filing it all away for future 'reference'. Heero had by now pulled on his school shirt and, leaving it unbuttoned for the moment, he, oh yeah, he began to remove the towel from around his waist.

Suddenly a small, giggling blonde materialised at his shoulder, startling him into tearing his gaze away, just as things began to get, at least in Duo's mind, even more steamy. Annoyed at being interrupted from his 'sight-seeing' (and a glorious site it was, he though to himself), his hand made a detour from pinching friend's ear to scrub across his chin as Quatre happily informed him "Duo, you're drooling again!"


	2. Chapter 2

Whee, go me! I hit my word target of 2000 words! Beat it even, with this chapter having a final total of 2, 108 words! Anyway, it's not very eventful, but I hope you enjoy it! Reviews for the first chapter were very, very much appreciated! Thankyou to: botan, the anonymous reviewer, Violet Yuy-Maxwell, chibidark angel, caley, Kitty Maxwell-Yuy, Quickbeam and Duo-js. To the anonymous reviewer: This probably sounds familiar 'cos it's kinda clichéd. It's not a repost. I hope it doesn't sound too much like someone else's! And an extra big THANKYOU to RevolutionaryElephant AKA Faith, who has supported me so much, and beta-ed this story! Check out her fics ^_^ Now, onto chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, Heero and Duo would be an official couple, and the program definitely wouldn't be suitable for children ^_~

**It Shouldn't Have To be This Hard **- Chapter 2

  After PE Duo, Heero and Quatre walked to the school gates and stood chattering whilst waiting for Trowa. Well, Duo and Quatre chattered and Heero leant against the tall, red brick wall, silent and sullen as always. They were used to Heero's attitude, but his unwillingness to participate in anything remotely sociable still pissed Duo off. Although he could occasionally get the stoic boy to join in a conversation, Heero's usual replies were simple one or two word sentences, or even shorter grunts. He was lucky that Duo could talk enough for the both of them, otherwise their strange friendship probably wouldn't have survived this long. Although at that moment Duo was quite glad of Heero's introverted personality, as it meant that he wouldn't question his rather strange behaviour in the changing rooms.

  Duo was animatedly discussing the latest developments in some evening soap he and Quatre both watched when Quatre suddenly stopped talking. "Trowa's here!" he exclaimed with barely concealed delight, eyes sparkling. Duo snickered quietly as Quatre practically skipped up to their friend, greeting him happily then pulling him over to them by the arm. He was just so damn obvious with his affections, finding any excuse to talk to or touch his crush. Duo was pretty sure that Quatre had 'accidentally' squeezed Trowa's butt on more than one occasion. A lot more than one.

  Watching the pair smile at each other and exchange news of their day, Duo felt a slight twinge of jealousy. The two obviously cared deeply for each other as friends, if not in a romantic way, so Quatre's crush at least offered some feelings in return. But for him, with Heero, there wasn't even much evidence that the messy haired boy cared for him as a friend.

  Seeing that his two other friends were engrossed in conversation, Duo turned to Heero, who was still leaning silently against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and tugged at his sleeve of his crisp navy blue blazer. "Come on Heero," he said, grinning up at the boy's bland face. "Hopefully those two lovebirds will realise to follow us this time," he added, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the two boys.

  Grunting his affirmation, Heero levered himself off the wall and started walking briskly out of the huge wrought iron gates that stood open to their left. Duo hurried to catch up, grabbing onto the back of Heero's red canvas backpack to slow him down. "I wonder how far we'll get before they notice we've left?" he wondered, still grinning. Heero snickered slightly beside him. Just yesterday they had walked a whole block before Quatre and Trowa caught up with them, and there had been instances when they had walked the entire way home without their two friends catching up.

  After 108 paces (Heero had been counting) they stopped at the sound of Quatre yelling to them "Hey, wait up!" Duo turned to see his blonde friend jogging up to them, Trowa following at a more sedate pace. Smiling at Duo and not sounding at all apologetic Quatre began "Sorry, we just got-"

  "Caught up in talking?" Duo finished for him, with a teasing smile. 

  Quatre retorted by sticking out his tongue in that annoyingly cute way of his, as Trowa joined up with them. The group continued on their journey home, Duo and Quatre elbowing each other playfully as Heero walked slightly in front of them, face expressionless, and Trowa watched them from behind, smiling at their childish antics. Although Duo had his suspicions that he was actually smiling at Quatre's pert little ass. You never could tell with Trowa. 'It must be the gravity-defying, eye-covering hair', he thought to himself. 

  To be honest, they were a pretty gay group. Well, apart from Heero, who just seemed asexually inclined. He had a crush on Heero, Quatre had a crush on Trowa, and was constantly finding excuses to drape himself all over the taller boy, and Trowa…well, he had the hair. But none of them openly admitted in front of all the others to being gay. Besides, it was probably just teenage hormones. Yeah, sure – Duo had been telling himself that for months and he still felt no different. 

  "So, what's everyone doing tonight?" Duo enquired after deciding that Quatre's elbows were too sharp, and hopping to Heero's left side for protection.

  "I'm going over to Trowa's. He's gonna help me with my math homework." Quatre chirped. Trowa nodded, his contribution to the conversation. Duo opened his mouth to make a vulgar and, in his opinion, rather witty comment (something along the lines of 'I bet that's not all he'll be helping you with'), but a warning glare from the small blonde made him change his mind, and he settled for just winking instead.

  "What about you, Heero?" he asked, turning to the silent boy beside him.

  "Hn. Homework" he replied shortly.

  Duo sighed inwardly. Heero was _always_ doing homework. Whilst he himself usually used homework as an excuse when he didn't feel like going out, Duo didn't doubt that Heero actually stayed in all evening working.

  "Wow, fun" he commented sarcastically. Then, with barely a pause, he launched into a new thread of conversation. "Hey, there's a new family moving into that old house across from me."

  Quatre nodded. "Yeah, I heard about them. They're Chinese or something."

  "Heh, I wonder if they have hot daughter." Duo grinned cheekily.

  "I think they have a kid who'll be coming to our school. I'm not sure what year they'll be in though." Trowa supplied helpfully.

  "Hmm, I hope it's a hot _older_ girl." 

  "Even if it is, why would you care? It's not like she'd want you anyway." Quatre joked.

  "Quatre, you've offended me!" Duo's eyes widened in mock hurt. "And of course she'd want me. Everyone wants a piece of me!"

  Quatre snorted. "Well I certainly don't."

  Duo pouted. "What about you, Trowa? Surely you can't resist me!" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  "Sorry Duo, but you're just not man enough for me. Must be the hair," Trowa replied, laughing slightly. 

  'Why do people always blame it on the hair?' he wondered randomly. "Well you two obviously don't know a fine piece of man when you see one. But Heero wants me," he sidled up to Heero. "Dontcha Hee-man?" he purred, trailing a hand suggestively down his arm.

  For a moment he thought, no, he hoped that Heero would agree and flirt back. But Heero just shrugged him off and replied, voice positively dripping with a sarcasm that made him wince, "Yeah, sure Duo." Ooh, that bites.

  He heard Quatre and Trowa snickering, and promptly stuck his middle finger up at them, pulling a face to show he meant to kill them. Obviously the 'You'd-better-run-for-your-life-'cos-I'm-out-for-you-blood' face didn't have the desired effect because, upon seeing it, Quatre dissolved into giggles, and even Trowa laughed.

  For a few minutes they walked on in silence, Duo sulking next to Heero, while Quatre and Trowa walked behind them, probably gazing romantically into each other's 'glittering orbs'. Quatre had one described Trowa as having the most beautiful 'emerald green glittering orbs' – right before he went on to ponder the size of his package. Some of the estimates he had come up with were quite astounding. 

  The silence was broken by Quatre. "Guys, we're at my street. See ya tomorrow!" They were in the posher district of the town, where Trowa and Quatre both lived in large, luxurious, although not overwhelmingly fancy, houses.

  "See ya," Trowa echoed, nodding at Duo and Heero.

  Heero nodded back. "See ya." Geez, what was with all the many nodding and 'see ya's'? Pfft, he could be manly too.

  "Bye!" Duo called, waving enthusiastically. Or maybe not.

  As Trowa and Quatre began to walk off down their wide street he shouted after them, a little louder than necessary, "Have_ fun_ tonight!"

  All feigned innocence, Quatre turned around and called back sweetly "We will!" The saucy smirk on his face sort of gave away his true, obviously perverted thoughts.

  Duo and Heero walked on in silence, their street being about half a mile from Trowa and Quatre's. Usually Duo would be babbling on about one thing or another, with Heero grunting out the odd 'Hn' to give the illusion that he was actually listening. But now Duo was thinking. He had a crush on Heero, and he hated that it was so one sided. Of course he would never come out and admit his feelings to Heero – they'd pass, eventually (he hoped). And although Heero never gave any indication that he actually had sexual feelings at all, he could at least find out what Heero thought about sexual orientation. If Heero thought that gays were disgusting he may as well try and force his feelings away altogether. He decided not to dwell on how he might feel if Heero _did_ find homosexuals disgusting. He was quiet a moment longer, thinking of ways to broach the subject.

  "Hey Heero," Duo spoke up eventually. When Heero looked over at him he continued. "Do you think Trowa and Quatre would make a cute couple?"

  Heero actually looked surprised at the question, which was an achievement in itself, but he didn't reply straight away. A minute or so passed and Heero still hadn't answered the question.

  "Well?" Duo prompted.

  "I…guess," Heero spoke up, a little hesitantly.

  He always seemed unsure when it came to matters of the heart. Duo guessed that relationships were Heero's weakness. But, whenever he pushed the matter, Heero would react with his fists. Self defence when he detected an attack upon the walls of his heart. Although a lot of Heero was still a mystery to him, Duo would say that he understood the boy better than anyone else. Just because he was always fooling around didn't mean that he wasn't aware of other people and their emotions, or apparent lack of them. And he was pretty sure that Heero _did_ have emotions – they were just buried deeper than anyone cared to dig. Pushing the serious thoughts away for later, he resumed the conversation.

  "Really? I think so too! They're always together and I reckon they're closer than most friends are. And have you seen the way they look at each other?"

  "Hn," was Heero's eloquent reply. Geez, the guy really had a way with words.

  "So…the idea of two guys together doesn't bother you?" he asked tentatively. He was pushing his way into dangerous territory. Beneath the calm exterior, Heero had a mean temperature - his wilder side showed when he was mad. Duo predicted that he would probably be quite wild in bed too. His fantasy-Heero certainly was. 

  "No," Heero answered slowly, as though thinking carefully about each word. "I think that, if two people feel for each other, it doesn't matter what gender they are."

  Duo blinked at Heero, mildly surprised. It was strange the way he was silent for so much of the time, but would occasionally come out with very thoughtful statements. It showed that he did have emotions beneath that cold exterior, as one would often forget.

  "Ooh Heero, I never figured you for the romantic 'love is love' type," he teased.

  "Shut up, baka, before I shut you up myself," Heero growled back.

  "What's a baka again?" Duo asked, quickly changing the subject, knowing not to provoke the other boy any further.

  "Idiot."

  "I know I am, but what's a baka?" Of course, he knew what Heero meant, but winding him up was fun.

  Heero sighed in annoyance. "Baka is idiot in Japanese," he explained, a little too patiently. "Baka," he added for good measure.

  The two turned right onto a narrow side street, passing small bungalows with neat front gardens. The neighbourhood had a slightly shabby but good-natured atmosphere. A few houses down the street, Duo turned up a clean swept but weedy driveway. Before he walked off he gave Heero a friendly clap on the back. "See ya tomorrow, buddy!"

  "Later," Heero replied, giving him a tiny half smile. Well actually, it was more like an 8th of a smile. Or possibly a 25th.

  Duo walked up to his front door then, as he always did, waited and watched until Heero had walked past the huge fir tree about ten houses further on, that obscured his view of the rest of the street. He did this every night, and Heero had never once looked back. Although that was probably a good thing, since he didn't want to have to explain why he was checking out, and most probably drooling over, Heero, as he walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 isn't as long as the previous chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! I'm trying to write this as fast as I can so I can get onto the juicy bits ^_~ So, as always, let me know what you think by reviewing. Comments, constructive criticism, whatever; it's all good! Again, much thanks to Faith for beta-ing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, Heero and Duo would be an official couple, and the program definitely wouldn't be suitable for children ^_~****

**It Shouldn't Have To be This Hard **- Chapter 3

  "Mornin' Heero!" Duo called cheerily, slamming his front door and dashing down his driveway as Heero came into view around the huge fir tree. He'd only been watching through the door window for about half a minute – Heero was always exactly on time. The reason he watched for Heero every morning was because, when they had first started walking to school together, Heero didn't knock on his door and wait for him, he just carried on walking and, if Duo wasn't on time to meet him on the street, he'd be left to walk by himself. He had no idea if Heero was still like that or if, now that they had been friends so long, he would wait for him; but it had gotten to be such a habit, and he didn't see the point in breaking it.

  "Morning," was Heero's short reply. Hey, at least it _was_ a reply!

  They briskly began walking the familiar route to school. Heero wasn't one for dallying about. About twenty minutes of endless chatter and periodic 'Hn's' later, and they were in view of Trowa and Quatre's street. Said friends were stood close together on the street corner, Quatre almost stepping on the brown haired boy's toes he was so close to him. Duo shook his head – why didn't they just get together? Then at least someone would be happy.

  Quatre glanced up and caught sight of them (it was a miracle that he'd torn his eyes away from Trowa's) and waved. "Hey, guys!"

  "Hey!" Duo called back. Heero and Trowa did their manly nodding thing.

  "Duo, can I talk to you for a bit?" Quatre asked.

  "Um...sure. You mean in private?"

  "Yeah," Quatre nodded.

  Trowa gave the blonde a look that Duo couldn't really comprehend (possibly something along the lines of 'Oh, my love, I cannot leave you all alone!'), then turned to Heero.

  "Shall we walk on?"

  Heero nodded in agreement, and the two set off ahead of them. When they had walked out of earshot, Duo turned to Quatre. "So, what do ya want to talk about?" He had a pretty good idea what it would be about though.

  "I think I'm gonna make a move on Trowa." Bingo! Whenever Quatre asked to talk to him in private, it was guaranteed to be about one of two things: something important, or Trowa. Although Quatre would argue that it was always about something of importance, since he considered matters involving Trowa extremely important.

  "Quatre," Duo replied carefully, "don't you make 'moves' on him every day? I mean, what about all the butt-squeezing and bicep-feeling?"

  "Those are not 'moves'," he explained, looking at Duo as though he knew nothing. "Those are just _accidents_ or _friendly gestures_. I'm talking about letting him know how I feel about him. Maybe kissing him…" he shrugged.

  "Kissing him?" Duo echoed. He didn't really know what to think. Quatre had always been a forward person, but he must have a whole lot of guts to do something like that. He also felt kind of jealous; Quatre actually had the courage to do something like that, and, more importantly, his actions and feelings would probably be reciprocated. Trowa and Quatre would get together and he'd have to put up with the endless mushy love talk and the starry romantic gazing into each other's eyes. Although he thought that they already did the latter anyway. But he'd be there all on his lonesome, with a crush on someone as unresponsive as a wooden plank.

  "Yeah," Quatre scratched at his ear absently. "I just get that feeling that, y'know, maybe he likes me back. Not meaning to sound big headed or anything." However, the smile he wore looked the tiniest bit smug. Well, Quatre was usually correct about these things. He had the right to be smug. "Besides, he seemed more…responsive to me last night."

  "Responsive?" Duo said, a little sceptically. "You mean he was leaning into your 'accidental' butt-squeezing?" He smirked.

  Quatre seemed to think about that for a moment before reply. "Yes, actually. Come to think of it, he was." Duo blinked, and shook his head before speaking again.

  "You should go for it," he encouraged. "I think he feels the same for you, too." He paused for a moment before continuing. "So, you're gonna kiss him? Tonight?"

  "I guess so," Quatre looked slightly nervous. "I'm going round to his house again, so it's the perfect time." 

  As they approached the school gates they saw Trowa and Heero waiting for them just inside. "Go for it, Q-man!"

  "Thanks," Quatre smiled gratefully at the encouragement.

  "Well, you guys look like you were having a fun conversation!" Duo commented as they came within earshot of the two silent boys. Quatre once again glued himself to Trowa's side, while Heero gave a snort that was almost a laugh, then motioned to Duo.

  "Let's get to class."

* * *

  "Duo!" He halted in his mad dash to get to the cafeteria before they ran out of lime jello as he heard his name called by a familiar voice. Spinning around he came face to face with Heero, which was odd, since he was usually first to the cafeteria.

  "Heero? How come you're not at the cafeteria?"

  "I waited for you," was his simple reply.

  "Oh." Well, that was new. Duo felt a glow of happiness that Heero had, for once, actually bothered to wait for him. Why the sudden change? Wait, unless he wanted something. Duo narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

  Heero shrugged in response. "I wanted to." Aw, that was sweet! "And I also wanted to talk to you about the Science project Mr. Smelton has set us." That wasn't so sweet. It was like those 'You've won a million dollars' letters – there's always a catch.

  "Ok, but save the asking for later. Right now we need to get to the cafeteria before they're all out of jello!" That said, Duo resumed his mad dash, Heero following almost as fast, but still managing to look cool and calm as ever.

  Luckily, they reached the lunch queue in time, and were soon sat at their usual table tucked into the corner of the room, Duo digging into his bowlful of quivering green goodness. A few minutes later they were joined by Trowa and Quatre. The blonde took his usual place next Heero, and Trowa the vacant space next to Heero.

  "Ooh, Duo, you got lime jello! There was none left by the time I got there!" Quatre promptly pulled the bowl from under Duo's nose and, using his fingers, helped himself to a big glob of the green goo.

  "Ew, Quatre, you are so gross!" Duo wrinkled his nose in disgust. "And that's _my_ jello!" he added, grabbing the bowl back. Quatre pouted, causing Trowa to smile at him affectionately. How could someone smile like that at a person who was sitting there pouting, with their fingers covered in gloopy lime jello? It must be love.

  After Duo had finished shovelling lime jello into his mouth, and had started to pick at the strange runny brown, meat-y substance that the cafeteria staff called 'beef stew', Heero began his lecture on their Science project.

  "We're expected to work in partners and produce a 10 page explanation on the…"

  Duo tuned out the monotonous drone and his mind happily skipped off into a world where Heero's voice wasn't emotionless and flat, but filled with passion and lust. His head would be thrown back in ecstasy, mouth wide, cheeks flushed as he…

  "DUO!" Quatre practically yelled in his ear.

  Duo jumped in surprise, banging his knees on the underside of the table, making his plate jump and, in turn, sending watery brown 'beef stew' slopping onto the table. Why did Quatre always jerk him out of his daydreams when he was just getting to the best bit? It was like he knew just what he was thinking, and interrupted on purpose.

  "Heero was asking you something," Quatre told him sweetly.

  Duo glared at Quatre, then turned to Heero. "Uh, sorry, I missed that."

  Heero sighed then repeated, "I wondered if you wanted to come to my house tomorrow evening to work on the project?"

  "Sure!" Duo replied enthusiastically. Yay, more time with Heero! Alone with Heero…in his bedroom…just like in so many of his fantasies…These thoughts sent his mind off on another trip to Heero-land and, for Duo, the rest of lunch passed by in a welcome daze that kept his mind off the so-called beef substance that he was determined to finish eating.

  As they exited the dining hall Quatre bounced up to him. "Ooh, so you're going to be _alone_ with Heero, in his _bedroom_!" he teased.

  "Yes, Quatre, I know," he retorted in annoyance. "But it's not like I've never been to his house before. I go over there quite often."

  "Yes, but this is your chance! I'm letting Trowa know of my feelings, so you should confess to Heero. It's the perfect opportunity! I can arrange to get you some candles to make a more romantic atmosphere. Oh, and some rose petals too. And I can help you with a romantic dinner, and also provide silken sheets for any 'after dinner activities'!" Quatre looked up at him with a cheeky grin.

  "It's ok Quatre, I think you'll be needing all those supplies yourself, tonight," Duo replied, a little bitterly.

  For a moment Quatre's face fell in disappointment but then, after realising what Duo had said, he grinned again. "I sure hope so!" Inwardly, Duo winced – why did his friend have to be so perky while he was wallowing in self-pity? It just wasn't right.

* * *

  The four friends walked home together a usual. As Quatre and Trowa parted from them, Duo whispered discreetly into Quatre's ear, "Good luck!" Quatre shot him a small, rather nervous smile, but his eyes twinkled in anticipation.

  The rest of the way home Heero and Duo discussed the Science project. Oh, the joy. At least Heero seemed quite willing to talk if it was on the subject of Science. In fact, for once, he seemed to be talking more than Duo was. Science wasn't a topic he had much to say on. As they turned onto their road, Duo spotted a large removal van parked opposite his house, furniture being shifted from it by two large burly men. 

  "Hey, the new family's moving in!" he pointed out, rather unnecessarily.

  Heero glanced in that direction then, as Duo turned up his own driveway, called out "So we'll talk more about the project tomorrow?" although it was more of a command than a question. Duo just sighed and nodded.

  "Sure. See ya tomorrow!"

  'Why did I have to fall for such a nerd?' he wondered in annoyance, as he watched Heero's retreating back…and ass. 'Because you're an idiot, and he's bloody hot!" was his mind's only answer.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I have finally returned to this fic after almost a year! I just suddenly got the urge to write more, and this time I'm gonna stick with it 'til the end. Honest! Well, I hope so anyway. I re-read the previous chapters, and it didn't suck quite as much as I thought it would, so that pleased me. However, I found so many typos I missed the first time around. I **hate** typos, and I desperately hope that this chapter is free from them! Thankyou so much for everyone's encouraging reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! It is going somewhere, trust me, and chapter 5 will hopefully be along soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, Heero and Duo would be an official couple, and the program definitely wouldn't be suitable for children.

---

**It Shouldn't Have To be This Hard **- Chapter 4

As Duo and Heero approached their group's usual meeting place the next morning, Duo noticed in surprise that Quatre was waiting by himself. As they drew closer he saw that the blonde's usual happy, too-bright-for-the-morning smile was replaced by a depressed looking frown.

"What's up, Quat? Where's Trowa?" as soon as he was within earshot he bombarded his friend with questions.

"He's gone on ahead, by himself," he said glumly.

"Has something happened?" he asked in concern.

"You could say that," was Quatre's mournful reply.

Guessing what Quatre was talking about, he turned to Heero. "Um...would you mind walking on so we can talk for a bit?" he asked. Heero stared at him for a second, then nodded and began walking. Turning back to Quatre he commanded, "Now, tell me everything."

"Trowa rejected me," Quatre began, and then hesitated. "You want the full story?"

Duo nodded gently. He's already suspected as much, but it still came as quite a surprise. He had been so sure that Trowa felt the same way for Quatre...

"Well, I went over to his house after school and we were just sitting in his room, going over some homework. We were sat opposite each other on his bed and after I while I said 'Trowa?' and he looked up at me. He just looked into my eyes and I was so sure...so I leaned towards him and...kissed him. He just sat there and didn't respond, and as I was pulling back he kind of jerked away. I didn't know what to say, he was just looking at me all shocked. I was about to say something, but then he said 'Quatre, I guess I know how you feel about me now but...I'm not like that. You're my best friend and I don't want to ruin that, but I don't want to be anything more.' So I just said 'sorry', got up and left." Quatre fell silent after his long speech, gazing at the obviously extremely fascinating tarmac.

"Quatre, that's awful!" Duo laid a sympathetic hand on the blonde's shoulder. "He's so mean!"

"No," Quatre said dully, "he's not. He just didn't like me in that way, I misread the signs, and he probably thinks I'm a complete freak now."

"He won't think you're a freak! Besides, you've never been one for giving up. You're just gonna have to try harder to win him over!"

"Whatever." Entering the school, they spotted Trowa stood with Heero over in their usual morning place. Duo began to walk towards them, but stopped as Quatre turned in the opposite direction.

"Quatre?" Duo questioned.

"I'm going to class," he replied.

"But your class is this way."

"I'm going the long way round," Quatre stated shortly.

Duo watched in concern as his friend walked off, shoulders hunched and feet dragging. He was obviously really upset about Trowa; Duo wondered how long he would carry on avoiding him. 'Right,' he said to himself. 'I am going to make Trowa see sense, and get those two together,' he decided firmly.

He walked over to where Trowa and Heero stood in silence, deep in thought and already plotting ways to get his two friends together. He had been so sure that Trowa returned Quatre's romantic feelings and, judging by his demeanour, so had Quatre. And Quatre was usually right about emotional things! Typical that he had to be wrong about something so important. He felt so sorry for his blonde friend – he had had the courage to actually kiss Trowa, only to be rejected. Now Duo was not a coward, but he sure as hell didn't have the guts to admit his feelings to Heero.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the figure in front of him, and walked slap bang into said figure, sending books and papers flying everywhere. The shock of walking into someone caused Duo to squawk in what Heero later told him was a very unmanly way, while the person he had walked into calmly bent down and began to retrieve their things, their long black hair falling to obscure their face. Flushing, Duo began babbling out his apologies, while hastily bending down and grabbing at the scattered papers.

"I'm so, so sorry! I wasn't look where I was going, and I just-. It's all my fault, I don't know how I-. I'm terribly sorry Miss, very sorry!"

The other person, who had been silently collecting together their items, finally raised their head to look at Duo.

"It's no problem," said a deep, rich, obviously _male_ voice.

Duo stared into the deep brown, almost black eyes that were looking back at him, then immediately began an even more flustered string of apologies. "Oh, oh. I am so sorry, sir. It's just, that hair- and I wasn't thinking- and I'm terribly sorry Mr...?" He trailed off, looking at the other boy helplessly.

"Chang. Wufei Chang. I've just transferred here."

All the papers seemed to have been collected, and Wufei rose from his position on the floor in one fluid, graceful movement. Duo followed, and finally got a good look at the new student. He was tall and slim, with silky black hair that flowed straight down to his shoulders. He was Chinese looking, and the expression on his face was calm and neutral. He was really quite good looking.

"Oh, have you just moved in down Appletree Avenue?" Duo enquired, remembering that a Chinese family had just moved in there the other day.

"Yes, just yesterday," Wufei answered.

"Oh, I live opposite from you then!" Duo exclaimed, smiling at the other boy. Then quickly added, "By the way, I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Duo," Wufei answered politely, a hint of a smirk playing around his lips. "Oh, would you be able to tell me where homeroom 9B is?" he asked suddenly, glancing down at a timetable in his hand.

"Hey, that's my homeroom!" Duo grinned at Wufei. "Just follow me!"

Heero was already seated in his usual place in their homeroom when Duo and Wufei arrived, having left the yard as the two were engrossed in conversation.

"Heero! This is Wufei, he's new here and he's gonna sit with us, ok?"

Heero 'hned' his agreement, then turned to Wufei. "Heero Yuy. Pleased to meet you."

"Wufei Chang, and it's my pleasure." Wufei nodded to Heero as he sat down on the chair Duo gestured to.

---

That evening they met at their usual spot by the gate, but Trowa walked off by himself before Quatre arrived. Heero probably would have gone with him, if it weren't for the fact that Duo was going to his house so that they could work on their Science project together.

The evening at Heero's passed by uneventfully. Not that Duo had expected anything eventful to happen. Heero sat and typed non-stop on his laptop, whilst Duo offered the occasional suggestion about the project whenever he managed to snap himself out of his daydreams. He always seemed to lapse into daydreams whenever he was at Heero's. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that he was sprawled on Heero's bed, head on Heero's pillow, and was that drawer over there Heero's underwear drawer?

When he arrived back home, Duo was feeling pretty glum. Whenever he spent time with Heero, if just made him realise how hopelessly unrequited his crush was. Unrequited crush. Unrequited love. He sighed to himself. It wasn't love, so he'd get over it eventually.

His gloomy thoughts reminded him of someone else who was having a rough time with their love life. He decided to give Quatre a call and make sure he was ok.

He dialled the number and Quatre answered on the third ring. He knew it would be Quatre since the line was his own private one. Lucky rich guy.

"Hey, Quat, it's me. How ya doing?"

"I'm okay," came the reply, accompanied by a sigh that contradicted the words. "I'm sorry I didn't walk home with you guys, I just...you know."

"Hey that's ok. Will you walk with us tomorrow?"

"I guess..." Quatre's reply wasn't too enthusiastic.

"Aw, come on, you can't walk by yourself forever!" Duo's tone was pleading. "You don't even have to talk to Trowa at all!"

"Ok, ok," he gave in. There was a moments silence and then he spoke up again. "I can't believe I was so stupid, Duo."

Duo hated hearing his normally super-duper-children's-TV-presenter-style-happy friend so down. "Listen, Quat, I admire you for what you did. I mean, it took a lot of guts. And...you know I thought it would work out too. Maybe he just needs some time to think, I dunno. But come on, you're the one who always looks on the bright side – at least he definitely still wants to be your friend and wasn't awful about it."

Quatre sighed and said "Thanks, Duo," but his voice quivered slightly.

Realizing that his friend was probably about to burst into tears Duo quickly said, "I'm sorry. I'd better go."

"Thanks Duo, I'm glad you're my friend," Quatre told him, sniffing a bit.

After saying their goodbyes and hanging up, Duo flopped back on his bed with a sigh. Honestly, he couldn't do anything right. He couldn't even comfort his best friend, he just rambled the first things that came into his head. He could never come up with the inspirational speeches people always had in movies. He couldn't get the perfect love life like in the movies either. And if Quatre couldn't get the guy he wanted, just how the hell was he meant to get the guy, or should he say cold, emotionless (yet undeniably sexy) rock, that he wanted?


End file.
